On August 28, at the Government Headquarters, Politburo Member, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung had a phone call with German Federal Republic Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Highly appreciating Germany's socio-economic and foreign affairs development achievements in the past time as well as Germany's positive role in the European Union (EU), the Prime Minister affirmed that Vietnam values the Vietnam-Germany Strategic Partnership.
Prime Minister Le Minh Hung requested the two sides to continue to expand comprehensive cooperation and concretize action determination, strengthen delegation exchanges, especially at the high level and across all channels; promote the effectiveness of existing cooperation mechanisms, thereby creating a favorable foundation for expanding cooperation in areas of mutual concern.
Regarding economic, trade and investment cooperation, the Prime Minister highly appreciated Germany's role as Vietnam's leading trading partner and important investor in the EU; proposed that the two sides create a new breakthrough, commensurate with the potential and stature of the relationship, towards soon bringing bilateral trade turnover to 20 billion USD.
The Prime Minister affirmed that the Vietnamese Government always creates favorable conditions for foreign investors, including German businesses, and encourages German businesses to expand investment in strong sectors such as mechanics, automotive industry, healthcare and energy transition...
The Prime Minister proposed strengthening the connection between the financial and stock markets between the two countries, encouraging financial institutions and international investors to participate in the International Financial Center in Vietnam. The Prime Minister highly appreciated Germany's completion of the ratification of the Vietnam - EU Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), considering this an important step contributing to facilitating two-way investment; proposed that Germany continue to promote its role, promote the remaining EU member states to soon complete the ratification of the Agreement, and support the European Commission to soon remove the IUU Yellow Card for Vietnamese seafood.
Regarding national defense, security, labor cooperation and human resource development, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung proposed that the two countries expand cooperation in United Nations peacekeeping operations; promote the model of parallel vocational training according to German standards in Vietnam, wishing the German Government to expand scholarship programs, creating more opportunities for Vietnamese students and officials to study and research in Germany.
For his part, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz affirmed that Vietnam-Germany relations are developing very well and have a full basis and potential to be elevated to a new level. Emphasizing that the two economies are highly complementary, the German Chancellor expressed his desire to strengthen the presence of German businesses in Vietnam through effective and large-scale cooperation projects; strongly promote trade, investment, expand energy cooperation and participate in strategic transport infrastructure projects of Vietnam.
Prime Minister Merz agreed to strengthen cooperation in the fields of transportation, logistics, aviation connectivity, green transformation and climate change response, effectively implement the Vietnam-Germany Energy Partnership framework; making science and technology, innovation one of the important pillars of bilateral relations in the coming time, promoting joint research projects, expanding cooperation in training experts and engineers in strategic technology fields.
Prime Minister Le Minh Hung requested the German side to continue to simplify visa procedures for Vietnamese citizens and create favorable conditions for the Vietnamese community in Germany to integrate more deeply, and continue to promote its role as a bridge of friendship and connection between the two countries.
